Why Heirloom Fruits and Vegetables are the Best in the World
What are Heirloom Seeds?
Heirloom seeds are rare, precious and treasured seeds that grow into plants that can bear seed just like their parents. They can reproduce themselves as Nature intended, parent to child, child to parent, and so forth.
Heirlooms can be either open – pollinated, which is pollination carried on by bees, butterflies, wind and other natural methods, or, hand pollinated by loving and dedicated farmers.
Hy-brids and GMO
Hy-brids (artificially inseminated organisms), GMO (genetically modified organisms) and other artificially engineered seeds do not reproduce naturally. They are most often sterile. If they do go to seed, resultant produce will be sterile, weak, disease prone and inconsistent, at best.
Bio-Engineered
These bio-engineered “seed” are fast contaminating the world’s natural seed supply, threatening their very existence.
Imagine subsisting solely on laboratory created produce modified with spore, mold, fungal, animal or human genomes and other chemical, cellular contaminants. A bleak prospect, indeed.
Natural Hybridization
It is possible for hybridization, as Nature intended, to engender a consistent Heirloom variety with much time, luck and wise technique. Most growers do not have the methods or time to do such specialized “natural” hybridization.
Considering that current Heirlooms are of such high quality, there may be little need to attempt to perfect hybridization species and varieties that breed true.
Caught in an Endless Buying Cycle
Growers that use hybrid or GMO seed need to buy new seed every season. They cannot grow their own seed for next year’s crop. They are at the whim of their seed providers. If they were to use Heirloom seed, they could reproduce their own seed.
Catastrophic Consequences
The lack of natural, biodiverse seed stocks around the world could cause catastrophe of unimaginable proportions.
Such a lack of biodiversity caused the death or displacement of over 2.4 million people during the Irish Potato Famine during the 1840s. Had there been biodiverse potato varieties, the devastation might have been avoided. ( Back to Top )
Destruction of Heirlooms
Multi-national seed producers are buying up many of the small seed producers and eliminating long time Heirloom seeds by destroying them and creating their own artificially hy-brid patentable types as a business strategy.
Many Heirloom collectors deplore this strategy, and have worked very diligently to preserve very special and rare varieties for future generations.
Heirloom Growers
Heirloom growers pick their best plants, let them go to seed, and grow the same delicious variety next season. Not only do they get to grow their very favorites year after year, but they also save a great deal of expense. They can experiment with cross pollination or related varieties and create a consistent new variety that can eventually, after time, become an Heirloom. ( Back to Top )
Heirlooms and the Test of Time
Some say that true Heirlooms must stand the test of time for a minimum of 100 years. Other’s say that 50 years is quite sufficient. It is a matter of personal preference. Most Heirloom varieties available today have stood the test of many years of growing and perfecting.
Some heirlooms go back many hundreds, even thousands of years. Many food connoisseurs believe that heirloom fruits, vegetables and grains are the best possible produce in the world. We agree, as we have noted that they are most delicious of all.
A List of characteristics and benefits of Heirlooms:
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The Way Nature Intended
So, it can be said that Heirloom seeds grow and propagate the way Nature intended, being FREE of hybridization, GMO manipulation, other artificially genetic alterations and have not been coated or impregnated with chemicals, stimulants, pesticides, or any other form of biocides, are therefore purer, safer, and healthier.
Heirloom seeds have been meticulously and lovingly chosen and re-bred for their exceptional taste and quality by the most dedicated natural farmers and enthusiasts in the world.
Best, Sweetest, Most Succulent & Flavorful
Every year, only the best of the best seed plants are allowed to go to seed, and only this best of the best seed is replanted the following season.
Best plants are determined by their abundant, verdant and healthy foliage, strength to resist disease and pests, and importantly, how absolutely delicious their harvested fruits and vegetables.
The choicest, sweetest, most succulent, most flavorful plants are rewarded with going to seed rather than going to plate.
Many people are familiar with, and love the flavor of Heirloom tomatoes. They do not realize that they can also enjoy Heirloom vegetables and fruits of ALL kinds.
Why is this? We can thank discerning growers and farmers who have gone to all the effort to preserve the best of the best, natural growing Heirloom varieties for future generations.
They have gone to great lengths to ensure consistent growth, resistance to disease and pests, the propagation of only the sweetest and most deliciously flavorful seed producers, and all in only the most natural of ways. ( Back to Top )
Rarity, Preciousness of Seed
Heirloom seeds are becoming increasingly rare. Some companies have purchased Heirloom seeds, hybridized them, modified them, and discarded all originals so that they were lost forever.
Elimination of Heirloom Seeds
It would be a sad day if we could not grow our own organic fruits and vegetables and had to rely entirely upon companies whose bottom line is the bottom dollar. Some companies may wish to control and grow all of our food.
You may have noticed that, much of the produce generally available today in grocery stores can be rather tasteless, although they appear attractive and colorful. Unfortunately, good looks does not translate to good taste.
Hybrids and genetically modified produce can be more easily shipped from one end of the globe to the other due to their consistent size and durability in an unripe condition. Often times people will choose ‘tree-ripened’ if available, because they realize that such fruit is better tasting. ( Back to Top )
Processed Chemical Additives, Fertilizers, Biocides
Growing on a mass scale the least expensive way possible means using chemically processed industrial byproducts for fertilizers, additives, growth enhancers are other chemicals that do not necessarily translate into health giving nutrients for the consumer.
Studies have shown that grocery produce is much less nutrient rich when compared to their forbearers that were grown organically from natural seed years and years ago, as well as from current organically grown produce.
Getting Back Their Health with Organic Foods
Many people have found that natural organically grown foods have given them back their health. There are stories upon stories of people who have switched to a more natural lifestyle, consuming a truly organically grown diet and had their health afflictions diminish or even go away. ( Back to Top )
A Business Standpoint
From a business standpoint, being an Heirloom seed company may not be the most profitable endeavor. Why? For one thing, the product reproduces itself. That is, most assuredly, a good way to minimize re-purchasing.
For another thing, Heirloom gardeners can copy your seeds forever, if they wish. You could say that Heirloom gardening is “open source seeding.”
It is not our main focus to maximize profit; rather, it is to encourage Heirloom seed growing throughout the world.
We believe that being a self sufficient gardener who can reproduce his delicious crop for as long as he wishes, and also be able to share his seeds, is the best of all gardening worlds.
Many companies choose to sell hybrids that do indeed produce nice vegetables and such. There is no doubt that their taste can be pleasing. However, customers will continuously need to return and repurchase the same seed, season after season.
Now… should the company decide to no longer make available a choice hybrid seed, it will be gone, just like that. They have full control of all supply.
Hybrids cannot be grown by anyone other than the originating nursery. From our viewpoint, we would much rather have our gardeners reproduce Heirlooms as much as they want.
Your Choice
Whether or not you believe hybridized, genetically fruits and vegetables are right for you, is of course, solely your choice. But, it stands to reason that allowing Nature to work her magic, her way, may be the best option possible.
For those of you who would like Heirloom seeds, please contact us. We also have pre-sprouted kits for your convenience and will gladly ship them to you to help get you started.
The kits are very economical and save you extra sprouting steps and ensure that your seed is viable.
We will have growing instructions for you. We also have a number of recommended books, websites, links, magazines, articles and other resources that will help you on your way.
Please keep in contact with us and let us know your experiences – we are deeply interested in how your Heirloom garden progresses. Questions? We will continually create FAQs. We are a community, and what you do, how you feel, affects all of us.
We encourage you to save your heirloom seeds and consider sharing them with others. Spread them around to friends, families, neighbors, everyone you can.
If you have a particular variety that you especially love, send some seed to us for testing. We will add your name to your seed, and find others to share your seeds as you would wish.
Happy Growing, Happy Harvesting, Happy Eating and Good Living! ( Back to Top )
Additional Reasons Why We are So Supportive of Heirloom Growing
Not too long ago, various groups of people around the world ate pure natural food and drank fresh, clean, pure water. They had good health, and they lived a relatively happy lifestyle.Child abuse was almost nonexistent. Families stayed together, played together, laughed and loved together. The elderly were honored and cared for. Domesticated animals were kindly tended, wild animals were honored and respected.
Fresh, Natural, Organic, Unadulterated
One of the reasons might have been that they ate the food the Good Lord intended – fresh, organic natural foods in their most unadulterated state.
Nature decreed that the strongest seeds survived, and people nurtured the most delicious plant varieties and saved the seed for next year’s planting.
Garbage In, Garbage Out
Perhaps what you eat may be very much what you become. Garbage in, garbage out. It‘s a people thing. We are not microbes or enzymes, designed to process waste.There are no guarantees… but it is something to think about – that – eating wonderful food, may contribute to having a more wonderful life.
For Everyone, a Wish
If we had a wish, it would be that every child and every loving person would have the constant opportunity to eat the most delicious, natural Heirloom fruits and vegetables, and that every animal would enjoy the same.
So, we herewith offer you seeds, kits, links and information so that you may find deliciousness and nutritiousness in every part of your everyday eating life. Heirloom produce is good for the planet, good for your health, good for your taste buds, and good for our whole, wholesome way of life.
You can order seeds by going to the Ordering Page
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